Refrigerator car



Oct. 13, 1942. w J, MEYER 2,298,895

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed May 4, 1942 4 sheets-Sheet 1 VV INS@ Vr N ,4 sheets-sheet 2 W. J. MEYER REFRIGERTOR CAR Filed May 4, 1942 PfG -7 .ZZ J0 l f /f /1 Oct.' 13, 1942.

Oct. 13, 1942.- w. J. MEYER 2,298,896 REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Mayl 4, 19/,42 4 Sheets-Sheet 4" ATTORNEYS.

rPatented Oct. 13, 1942 UNITED 'STATES-f PATENT OFFICE'.-

\ f asrmcnnaroa can i Wendel J. Meyer, Philadelphia, ra., assigner to The? ennsylvania Railroad Company, -Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania. Application May 4,1942, serial No. 441,591

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus of a type in whichbrine or other equivalent solution circulated under: the convection principle in a closed system, is utilized7A as a secondary refzjgerant or heat exchange medium between a primary refrigerant such as water-ice Aor solid carbon-dioxide, and the atmosphere in a cold storage compartment or chamber.

NMy invention has for, its main object to insure in a refrigerating apparatus of the kind referred to the maintenance `of a vconstant ow of the, secondary refrigerant under all conditions of operation without incurring wasteful consumption of the primary refrigerant.

Thisdesideratum I realize in practice as `here.- inafter more fully disclosed. through provision of a radiator `for the secondary refrigerant having a down-flow pipe and a plurality of up-flow pipes vertically arranged in an air-ow space between top and bottom headers, Isaid down-dowpipe extending t ough a portion only of the airflow space and be g there insulated against the inuence of thermal changes in the air, while.

built refrigerating unit conveniently embodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 is afragmentary horizontal sectional view of the car taken as indicated Vby the angled:

- Fig. 3 is a staggered cross sectionalview taken as indicated by the angled arrows III- III fr( Fig. 1. .l

Figs. 4, 5V and 6 are. views corresponding to Figs. 1-3 showing ari-'alternative embodiment of of these drawings, itwill be noted that the housing of `my improved refrigerator is illustrated asy having the form of a railway carfbody with `a roof I, a floor 2, sidelwalls 3. and end walls` whereoify one is indicated at 4, all of which are relativelythick and'in practic constructed with inte tion of heavy thermo-insulating material. f `cfated at one end of the car'is a refriger-` 55 ating unit which is comprehensively designated by the numeral 5 and which may be duplicated at the opposite end of the car, if desired,` or if the length of the latter should Warrant'it. As

f shown, the refrigeratlngv unit 5 includes a bunker 8 for the primary refrigerant R which may be" water-ice or solid carbon-dioxide in block form,.

said bunker being built onto the end wall 4 of the car body at the center beneath the roof I and having a bottom 1, sidewalls 8 and an inner end wall 9, its outer end wall being coincidentv with said car wall. Access to the bunker 6 for loading is had from above upon removal of a' Wedge cover I0 from an opening II in the car roof. By means of an irregular partition I2 the interior of the car body dis sub-divided into a 1 main or cold storage chamber I3 and a relatively narrow iiue I4 which extends vertically along the cai-wall! as at I5, then horizontally beneath the bunker 8 as at I6, and then upwardly .to theinner end wall of said bunker as at n. A1; its 1ower" end the partition I2 terminates slightly short of the car floor at the level of a reticulate false floor I8 in the chamber I3 With resultant formation of a shallow horizontal air-flow passage I9 -in communication with the bottom of the flue.

Immediately below the car roof I, the short ver'- tical portion of the partition I2 is provided with a transverse aperture 2l with a flow-control damper vane 22 therein which is actuated automatically by a Sylphon bellows thermostat 23 sensitive to temperature `changes within the f chamber I3.

'I'he refrigerating unit 5 further includes a radiator-like structure 24 for the circulation of the secondary refrigerant, said radiator having the lower part of the flue Il; a single centrally a top header whichin'this instance is in the form of a jacket 25 lining the bunker Ii with the ice blocks R. resting on its bottom; a' transversely arranged bottom header 26 which is located in located down-flow pipe Y21; and a plurality of upfiowpipes 28 which are symmetrically groupedat opposite4 sides of said down-now pipe.` As shown in Fig. l. the down-flowV pipe 21 is relatively short and extends downward within-the vertical portion I5 ofthe flue I4 adjacent the end wall l -of the' car body from the top header 25 to the bottom header 26. Within the flue I4, 'the down-flow pipe 21 is completely encased by heavy thermal insulation 29, and in practice preferably has a crass sectional areav whichV aggregates thecombined lcross-sectional areas of the up-flow pipes 28. vThe up-ow pipes 28, on the other,

hand, are considerably longer than thedownas at 3I and the horizontal portions transversely finned as at 32 for a reason which will presently appear.

For the purpose of automatically controlling the circulation of the secondary refrigerant which is indicated conventionally at R and maintained at the level shown in Fig. l in the top header wit provision of an air space above it to allow for xpansion, I have provided a valve means 35 which is located in the down-flow pipe 21 immediately below the bottom 1 of the bunker 6, said valve means being arranged for automatic actuation by a temperature sensitive thermostatic bulb 36 locatedin one ofthe adjacent up-ow pipes 28, see Fig. 3. The water or lgas accumulation (as the case may be) resulting from the melting or sublimation of the primary refrigerant is carried off through a pipe 31 which extends from a point within the ice space of the upper header 25 downward in one corner of the car end and at its bottom passes through the vcar floor 2 as shown in Fig. 3, the vertical portioni of this pipe being'longitudinally finned as at 38 and the horizontal portion thereof transversely finned as at 39 like the up-liow pipes 28 ofthe radiator. The pipe 31 thus assists in cooling the air within the flue I4.

By reason of the disposal of the upper connections of the pipes 28 with the top header 25 at a higher level than the connection of the pipe 21, the circulation of the secondary refrigl air-within the flue I4, with consequent establishment of a temperature differential whereby/the circulation in the radiator 24 is effectively stimulated. YCirculation of? the atmosphere between the cold storage chamber I3 and the nue I4 is likewise brought about by convection, i. e., through rise of the warm wair within said chamber and fall of the chilled air within said flue, the air circulation being contrary to the ow of the secondary refrigerant in the radiator asalso indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1.

As an adjunct I have shown at 48 within one corner of the flue I 4 a heater with a coil 4I therein whereof the terminals 42 and 43 connect with the bottom header 26 of the radiator at different levels. The heater may be automatically con trolled by suitable thermostatically governed means (not illustrated) sensitive to thermal changes in the chamber I3.

The modied embodiment of my invention featured in Figs. 4-6 is generally like the rst described embodiment. Accordingly, ln order to obviate the necessity for repetitive description, all the elements illustrated in Figs. 4-6 and having their counterparts in the rst described embodiment are identified with the same reference numerals previously employed, except for the addition in each instance, of the letter a for convenience of more ready distinction. In the alternative embodiment, the upper header 25a instead of being in the form of a jacket, here comprises a main upper section 45 of rectangular configuration which extends around the upper part of the bunker 6a and a lower section 46 which lies only along the outer end wall at the bottom of the bunker. Extending from the crosswise portion of the upper section 45 of the top header 25a adjacent the end wall 9a of the bunker 6a, first downwardly along said wall and then horizontally across the bottom of said bunker to the lower section 46 is a series of tubes 41 which jointly constitute a grid whereon the ice blocks R directly rest. As shown in Figs. 4 and 6, the end portion of the upper section 45 of the top header .25a lying directly above the lower section 46 is connected by diagonally disposed conduits 48 which extend in opposite directions from the central portion of said upper section to the ends of said lower section. By reason of the described construction of the top header 25a of the modified radiator with its multiple tubes 41 in contact with the primary refrigerant in the bunker 6a, the influence of the temperature differential is made even more potent than in the iirst described embodiment in its stimulating action to promote the convectional circulation of the secondary refrigerant.

Having thus -described my invention, I claim:

1. A refrigerator car or the like including a cold storage compartment; a bunkervbelow the car roof adjacent one of the car walls; a reticulel to the wall, then laterally beneath the bunker and finally upward and parallel to the inner end of said bunker to the car roof to form a flue which is in communication with the compartment at the top by way of an inlet port at the upper end of the partition; and a closed convection circuit means for a fluent secondary refrigerant in the form of a radiator comprising a top header arranged for contact with ice in the bunker, a bottom header within the verticalportion of the iiue, a down-ow pipe leading at one end directly from the bottom of the top header to the bottom header, and an up-flow pipe leading up from the lower header through the vertical portion of the flue, then through the horizontal portion of said ue beneath the bunker and connecting into the top header at the opposite end and at a higher level.

2. A refrigerator car or the like according to claim 1, in which the down-flow pipe of the radiator is covered with heavy insulation so that the fluid therein is not influenced by temperature changes in the air passingthrough the flue; and

in which the vertical portion of the up-ow pipe is longitudinally finned and the horizontal portion is transversely finned to accelerate rapid thermal exchange between the secondary refrigerant and the air passing through said flue.

3. A refrigerator car or the like according to claim 1, in which the top header of the radiator comprises two main sections which are disposed at different levels within the bunker, 4'and multiple connecting flow tubes extending down from said upper section adjacent the inner wall of the bunker and then along the bottom of said bunker to said lower section thereby to form a grate on which the ice is directly supported. 4. A refrigerator car or the like according claim 1, in which the top header of the radiator comprises ltwomain sections at different levels,

the upper section being of rectangular configuration and extending perimetrically about the bunker near the top and the lower section extending along one side Wall only of the bunker at the bottom of the latter, and multiple flow tubes extending downward from said upper section adjacent the opposite endwall of the bunker, and then along the bottom of said bunker to said lower section, thereby to form a grate on which 4the ice is directly supported.

lationso that the'iiuid therein is not influenced by temperature changes in the air passing through the flue; and in which the Vertical portions of the up-flow pipes are longitudinallyfinned and the-horizontal portions transversely finned to accelerate thermal exchange between the secondary refrigerant and the air flowing through said flue.

9. vA refrigerator car or the like according to claim 1, in which the down-flow pipe of the ra- 'diator is centrally located; in which 'there are 5. A refrigerator car or the like according to claim l, in which the down-flow pipe of the ral diator is centrally located; and in which there are plural up-ilow pipes symmetrically arranged in groups `at opposite sides of said down-now pipe.

6. A refrigerator 4 claim 1, in which' the down-flow pipe of the ra.-

groups at opposite sides of said down-flow pipe; and in which said down-flow pipe is covered with heavy insulation so that the uid therein is `not influenced by the temperature of the air passing through the nue. l

'7.A A refrigerator car or the likel according to claim 1, in which the down-flow pipe 'of the radiator is centrally located; in which there are plural up-ilow pipes symmetrically grouped at opposite sides of the down-flow pipe; in which said down-flow pipe is covered with heavy insulation so that the fluid therein is not influenced car or the like according tol diator is centrally located; in which there are plural up-ow pipes symmetrically arranged in plural up-iiow pipes symmetrically grouped at op-v pcsite sides of said down-flow pipe; in which the top header comprises two main sections at different levels, the upper section being of rectangular configuration and extending around the bunker at the top and the lower section extending along one side wall only of the bunker; in which multiple flow tubes extend down from 'the upper section adjacent to the inner wall of the bunker remote from the lower'section and then along the bottom of said bunker to said lower-section to form a grate on which the ice is directly supported; and in which inclined conduits extend downwardly in opposite directions from the center of the top section to opposite ends of said lower section.

10. A refrigerator car'or the like including a `cold storage compartment; a'bunker below the car roof adjacent one of the car walls; a partition extending upward substantially parallel to the wall aforesaid, then laterally beneath the4 4bunker and finally upward and parallel to the innerend of said bunker to the car roof to form a flue, ports at the -.upper and lower ends of the partition through which the compartment communicates with the flue; and a closed convection circuit means for a uent secondary refrigerant in the form of a radiator comprising a top header arranged for contact with ice in thel bunker, a bottom header within the vertical portion of the flue, a down-flow pipe leading directly downward y from the top header to the bottom header, and an 11p-flow pipe extending up from the lower header through the vertical portion of the flue, thenthrough the horizontal portion of said ue beneath the bunker and connecting into the top header at ahigher level.

' f WENDEL J. MEYER. 

